Wool Crazy Sew Along

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About Me

Hello and welcome to my blog. I am the owner of Pumpkin Patch Primitives, an online Quilt Shoppe catering to primitive lovers.
I live in NH, and my "real" life revolves around my son. He is the light of my life and the stars in my sky, he is 21 now, and he is autistic.
I am a homeschooling Mom. I paint, I quilt and my favorite place to be is my home; even when it's a mess!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Brenda=)

My Son, GP

Autism has many handsome faces, this is just one of them. Please support Autism research. Sooner or later it will touch your family too. Fact: 1 of every 88 children in the US has some form of Autism. (Source CDC 2012)

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I just had to share this one... we are having a Severe Winter Weather Alert tonight for the ice storm that is headed our way.So GP goes to take a shower and as soon as he is in his PJ's he announces he "must check on the snow storm" before he goes to bed. That sounds OK...I'm thinking he is going to look out the window to see if it's started to snow (which it hasn't). But NO! He wanted to "check the news". OK so I tell him to turn on the TV and check channel9 (The only local NH channel that has the weather every couple of minutes.)Well, wouldn't you know it? GP was checking for school closings. I hear a "YAHOO!" coming from the family room and I go to find out what's happening, and GP announces, "Nashua Schools are closed!" and I just had to laugh... The kid goes to "Home" School in Nashua, so if the "schools" are closed, well... Home School must be closed too! This "Homeschool is just like any other school" business does not always work out as well as parents expect. How do you explain that your school is open, without making it seem like you're getting the short end of the stick by being homeschooled? It can be tricky.He was just checking to see if he had the day off!Just one more sign that he's Autistic, not stupid!LOL!I'll be aiming for half a day of Homeschool tomorrow... wish me luck!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I know, I know...it's not Fall... but we're getting another blast of Winter tomorrow and I wanted to be prepared.I went out and brought in a TON of wood, went to Panera and picked up bagels and sandwiches for tomorrow. Picked up two documentaries at the Library (Einstein, how lucky they had this. It's this week's topic! and Martin Luther King...if you celebrate the holiday you should know why, hello!) and found a fun project to keep me busy (and smiling) while the world around me turns into a gray mess! Do you know the name of this pattern? Has it been on your Halloween To Do list, forever? Well, I will give away the pattern to make this awesome woolly project to the first person who tells me the the name of the pattern! If you already own the pattern, please DO NOT spoil the fun by posting it. The way I see it, if you really love the pattern, then you must know the name of it, LOL! I'll be drinking hot cider and stitching up pumpkins while my driveway gets yet another eight inches on snow. Oh how I love FALL! See? My glass is half full, LOL!

I know, I know...It's not Fall, but it's not Xmas either... what can I say? I am just playing catch up and finishing MY little quilts. This is the same "mystery " quilt I made Sandy for her birthday but for hers I changed the wording to read LOVE instead of the pattern's NOEL. Her stars were also blue as opposed to green to keep with the non-Xmas theme. Mine, well I like the Xmas theme and wanted to make it as a Shoppe sample so I pretty much stayed with the pattern. I made kits for this cutie and they flew off the shelf. I only have one left...so I figure I should finish mine before Xmas came around again! All the applique and lettering is flannel. The rest is flat cotton. I am so happy...I can't believe I finally finished it. Hey, how about that tan I gave her? It's a New England windburn look, LOL!GP looks just like that when he plays outside...The colors are off, of course; but hey, it's 5am, you want better pictures?Send me a photographer that keeps Baker's hours, LOL!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

My pumpkins have been stacked, fused and stitched down. My sleeve issecured to the back and I have even perched my little black bird on top.This quilt is now DONE!And, I took a nap, did the dishes, three loads of laundry and even had company today. How ya like them pumpkins?Just call me Super Woman, LOL!Hope you all had a fun day too...

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Arden's pumpkins made my heart happy so I had a little pumpkin quilting party last night. I couldn't help myself! LOL!I stitched up a Bunch of Pumpkins. This kit flew off the shelf all Fall and when I couldn't see any other color but orange I pulled it from the catalog. I did save one for myself, and made one for my Pumpkin Lovin'sister Jessy, when she came to visit in October. It is so cute! I'll have to make up some more kits for it this Fall. All the applique pieces are flannel, even the little cart! I have to clean it up a little too. I used pencil for my guide lines... it was way too late to stress about finding the chalk, LOL!I still have to hand stitch the binding on the top and the bottom along with adding the embroidery to the sign and wheels. But I'll be doing that today, woo-HOO! then I'll have to do the laundry, and all those other chores I love....can you see me rolling me eyes? Again, I just can't help myself. Thinking of chores makes me eyes do that, LOL!Hope your day is filled with lots of crafting and only a few chores. Have fun!

Look what Arden Shelton sent me today...it's a pic of her The Frost Is On The Pumpkin block swap quilt top. Not sure what's more beautiful, the "I did it!" smile on her face, or her top.... the jury is still out. Way to go Arden! I'm thinking I might have to take the blocks out of the ziplock now... Oh, peer pressure...LOL!

Oops, I forgot to clarify... I hosted a Pumpkin Block Swap to complete a quilt called The Frost is On the Pumpkin, the pattern is by Bunny Hill Designs' Anne Sutton. The blocks were awesome and the quilt tops are now surfacing. All except mine, because my blocks are still in the ziplock bag; go figure! If you missed the last swap quilt picture, you can see it HERE!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Last Summer GP and I went to the Burlington Mall in MA and the mall was decked out for Xmas. There were signs everywhere that there was filming taking place for a soon to be released film. Later in the Fall they had signs that Mall Cop was the movie and it would be in theaters early 2009. Well, it was released on Friday in NH and we went to see it. It was loads of fun. So if you're looking for some lighthearted humor...may I suggest a silly movie about a mall security officer with a crush on the girl from the hair extensions booth? GP gave it two thumbs up. =)

Friday, January 16, 2009

OK, so I couldn't ignore the orders, the laundry or the Solar System (yep... that's this week's homeschool subject; it was amazing that GP could see that Challenger was not always an opponent on GameTap, and he actually had a good time watching all the PBS films we picked up at the library. I, on the other hand, felt like a bobble head...but if I didn't sit there, you know what would have happened) and it is important to make sure he doesn't miss all the details so every now and again I would throw in "what did he say?" to make sure GP was still with the program. The things one must do for science. Will he ever use this knowledge? Probably not, but it sure is important to let him know that things weren't always this good! the worksheets were even worse than the movies, but I'll spare you all the details...you might start doing the bobble head thing too! Needless to say, my poor Wooly was finished except for the embroidery, which I couldn't seem to sneak in today. It's still in progress but I will share it, since it might look better before I add my stitchery. Have I mentioned I'm not too good at the embroidery thing? It's a skill I'm still working on, so just be gentle with the comments, after WS's pastry and the first Moon Walk, I'm not too sure I'm feeling like myself this week, LOL!

If it weren't zero degrees I'd take it outside for a really good picture but since the wind chill factor is below zero, you can just imagine how cute it looks, LOL! Sorry...maybe it'll warm up to ten degrees tomorrow and I'll make a quick dash outside to get a better pic. Trust me, the colors on this one are way off...the sheep is actually a mottle caramel color; oops~Now I have to get to bed. Hope everyone had a great week and that you're already thinking about what you're going to be crafting this weekend. =) OOps, almost forgot to mention that the applique is Wool Felt, then felted wool on top and then flannel for the houses...I even stitched down the teeny-tiny windows. They're so cute!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

So I am having my Java, trying to snap into consciousness while doing the only thing that requires very little movement and use of brain cells, reading my emails. I open my daily email from Williams-Sonoma (yes, I'm a WS groupie), hoping to see another piece of Le Creuset Cookware I can't live without and what do you think they send me? This picure with something under it (I swear I couldn't read it, I was in shock!) This is no new Citron masterpiece! This is another ten pounds on my hips....What's up with that? Oh, but I must say, it did wake me up, Big Time, LOL!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

I'm not slacking here, I'm almost done with my Wooly quilt... and here's the proof!and yes, I do my binding before my applique...I'm just weird like that, OK? I just added the hanging sleeve and have only a few details on the front to do. No peeking... it's still a Work in Progress!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Nothing! I have the Monday Blahs...what is it about Monday's that just make me so disorganized? It's like my brain freezes up and decides that since there is so much to do, it will do: NOTHING!But fear not, my "be good to yourself" mantra firmly posted on the office wall makes me think outside the "must do" and into the "will do", so tonight, right after Homeschool is done I will start working on this brand new pattern from one of my favorites, Pumpkin Berries Stitchery. It just came in today; I'll have it posted on the website tonight.And, although I have an aversion to purple (Hey, I like orange....and I have adopted it as a year 'roud appropriate color. So I think that's why I see purple as a Halloween, not usually year 'round color. Pretty weird, eh? Orange is OK but purple makes me thing ghosts and gobblins...)I will be making it purple... I'm moving out of my comfort zone, LOL! Hey, you think I should add some of my Fancy French Knots to this one??? I think I'm turning into a FN Maniac!What are YOU working on? HMMM????

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Nashua was hit, yet again, with a snowstorm last night. We were blasted with 10" of snow. If you have never had to shovel that much snow there is no analogy I can think of for you, but trust me, it's NOT good. Because this year one of my "non resolutions"/promises to myself is "to be good to myself", I have hired a person to come and remove the snow from my driveway. Wait, that's not all he does; he also uses a snowblower to clear a path from the driveway to the backyard garden gate for the Oil company to refuel our burner's tank, AND he shovels the backdoor patio so Pepper can do her "business".After removing the snow from my car and having to do some tricky all wheel maneuvering to get the little Murano out of the driveway without banging into the tree (just barely), I waited like a Danzel in Distress for my Hero to come and rescue me from the big bad snow shovel.... It was getting a little late and I was getting a little worried that the other danzels (AKA the little old ladies in the nursing home he has to plow before coming over to my house) had zapped him of all his powers when who should come plowing into my driveway (and yes, I do mean that literally...)My new love; Mr. Plow Guy himself!Oh yes, he packs a hefty piece and he sure knows how to use it! Look at that driveway.... can you hear me sighing? Oh, this was so good for me I just had to share it. I emailed Joanna who asked if I wanted to kiss him... which pretty much summed it up nicely.

Oh, I think even Pepper wanted to kiss him after she inspected her "place of business", LOL!To think a Coach bag used to make me happy....

TADA! this one is for Joanna....for making GP laugh with delight at having been his lucky winner #2!As always, my colors are off but maybe Joanna will take a pic when she receives it (she is so moresavvy at that picture thing than I am). She takes better pictures with her cell phone than I do with my Sony Cybershot! Hello.... I think it's not really the camera as much as it is the photographer. Where the heck is Ashton Kutcher when you need him??? Now I am off to sleep...

Saturday, January 10, 2009

So here I was all excited that I finally finished that pincushion, and today I mailed it out to TSandy (watch for it in the mail!) and I just got back from a shop hopping trip trying to find those great weighted poly pellets that Amy used to stuff the cupcake pincushion. Wow, one tank of gas and three hours later, I can say that the only place near my home that carries it is Micheal's! But I found it... and that's what counts!Anyway, I was just getting myself settled in and catching up with my Bloglines and look what I found:Turns out that Linda made the same pincushion I just finished and was showing hers, go figure! Alas, mine is personalized with the little french knot eyes and all, but we did use the same pattern. LOL! And I'm still not telling which one I am finishing up for Joanna, not until I can post a picture...

OK, so I'm giving up on the resolutions... I'm going to take it one week at a time and see how that works out for me, LOL!This week I had to find something cool for my two drawing "crashers"...so I found some great pincushions I had started and Whala! I have my Second and Third Prizes.; woo-hoo! Well, I still have some buttons to go on the last one but at least I can mail this one out to TSandy when I mail Trashalou's ... hey, you think they'll deliver that little quilt to another country without a name? I think not; I need a name to go with that address Miss Trashalou!Here's TSandy's pincushion. Oh, I forgot to take a pic of the back, it's quilted and everything...I'm so fancy, LOL! And look, those eyes are French Knots that TSandy taught me how to make when I was in TX. Now isn't she going to be happy she taught me how to make those so I could add them to this ever so cool pincushion? I certainly do think she will be proud of my little knots. She marveled at how I could take a perfectly good knot and make it disappear when I pulled on the needle. It was like magic...but she finally figured out what I was doing wrong and taught me how to make them actually show up on my work. She's a genius! LOL!Now I have to finish Joanna's . No pics until it's done. I'm babysitting next weekend so I'll hand deliver it... pics to follow.But while I was talking about pincushions I have to show you one that I received from Amy, for taking part in the cupcake block swap. Isn't it cute???? It's soft and mushy, like a little bean bag.I love it!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Yes, we have a winner! But first I have to say that if you were here for the drawing you would probably want me to have one every week. GP was so excited! He even decided we should have second and third place winners too so for those there will be something special too...just not a quilt, LOL! You can thank GP for that.These are the entries waiting for GP to get out of the shower.And then GP draws the winner....drumroll, please~and Trashalou, our non subscriber who always check in on us is the winner!But the fun doesn't stop there...GP draws two more names that made him LOL in delight....because he knew who they were, no doubt.Our second place winner was:Joanna! I'm convinced this one came out just to get GP all worked up, LOL!And then, as if Joanna's name wasn't enough to get him all worked up....This happened! The highlight of the evening...it's T-SANDY!You just had to be here to enjoy this one.It was one of those belly laugh moments he has... it was so cute!"IT'S T-SANDY! YAHOO!"Yeah, TSandy is a subscriber, but not a mystery one so I put her name in the bag ...just in case it was her lucky day, and it was! Woo-Hoo! or as GP would say,"Yahoo!"Thanks to those who came out of the shadows to say HI...I'll have another drawing soon!

Friday, January 2, 2009

I love perks; they are the incentive that drive my impulses. Anything from "Free with Purchase!" to "Extra discount for members only!" This is not to say that I don't turn down those crazy cashiers at Home Goods who think I should open a charge account (to get an extra 10% off and a paved road to the Poor Farm, duh!), but all things considered, I surely do appreciate a little perk if it doesn't cost me anything and doesn't require a new mortgage on the house. LOL!I was thinking that I have nineteen "Mystery Subscribers" and I would love to know who they are so I can check out their blogs. Who knows? I might be one of their subscribers too! Not that I don't think that the hundred blogs on my Bloglines list aren't enough to read during the morning coffee break but hey, it's Winter and one does require more than one cup of Java to get going in the morning. Plus, people seem to be on a Blogging hiatus these days. It's the Winter Blues, or something... what's up with that? Well, now I have a cute little perk for subscribers only.If you subscribe to my blog, please leave a comment telling me how you found my blog, and an email address (this is VERY important!). I am hoping for at least, Nineteen replies as there are Nineteen Subscribers showing up on my stats. As a perk, I will draw a winner from my subscribers only (who have left a comment) for a handmade BRR quilt with Snowflake hanger. This is NOT a pattern, not a kit, this is the one I made for the Pumpkin Patch. Finished and ready to be displayed. It's so cute! This is your chance to LMK who you are, and to receive a free gift from me for following me on this crazy journey that is my life! I can't wait to find out who you are. And remember you have a one in nineteen chance of winning so the odds are REALLY good, Woo-Hoo!

It just occurred to me that I never did show you my Xmas tree by the window and pretty soon it's coming down. So here it is, our signal to Santa that we are Christian, "Hello, over here... we're waiting!" If you didn't get anything from the Jolly ol' guy in the red suit this year, well... let's say that it might have something to do with the location of your tree, LOL! I didn't deck the halls this year (but I did better than 2007 thanks to the never ending encouragement from Melissa's blog, she's a Xmas nut!) so I thought I'd just share some of my favorite ornies.These ornies remind me of my sisters. The one on the left of Sandy who is the eternal dreamer and the one on the right of Tchoco who always makes my heart happy!This ornie I made myself, adapting an applique pattern from the Needl'Love company. I sent one to my stocking swap buddy too. It's made of wool felt.These are just some little old guys that always seem to make it onto the tree, no matter what. I think they are from Target, from a few years back.

GP has declared that the tree must stay up until February (don't ask why, I have no idea) but because he was so sad that 2008 was gone (we had tears of sorrow here!) I am keeping it up until he is ready to say goodby.Saying goodbye is hard to do...

Thursday, January 1, 2009

I'll give you one guess as to who had a Super Mom moment and promised her autistic son she would take him into Boston on the most crowded night of the Year. Yep! You got it, ME! Now if you have been following the news at all you KNOW there was a snow storm headed our way andit decided that, of all the freakin' days of the year, it would pass through Boston on Dec 31st between the hours of 11AM and 2PM. At a nice clip too, 1"-2" per hour. Yes, that was 8 inches of snow in four hours! Well, since I am a nervous wreck, driving through snow is NOT something I choose to do and only venture out when I absolutely must. But here's the thing...when you make a promise, it means you MUST follow through. If you don't, you loose your credibility. So now, guess who drove two hours in the midst of a snowstorm to take her autistic child to a crowdedcity to walk the streets in single digit temperatures? Hello, it's crazy old ME! Do I need a head scan or what?!My husband, who is a native of the Boston area, is the one who takes GP to First night...or has done so for the last couple of years. Mind you, the last couple of years it has not snowed and it has NOT been freezing. So why, oh why, did I have to go? Because DH had to work. As if paying the mortgage was more important than saving me from a heart attack! Hello! GP was so sad; he "invited" me. Oh, if you only knew how rare that is. GP never invites me to do fun stuff unless Gino is unavailable. So when GP asked "Mom will go with Gene?", I said "Wow, that sounds like fun, I think we can do it!" and that was it. I was way, and I mean WAY over my head, LOL!So anyway, I did what I needed to do and kept my promise (prayers and pills do it for me, LOL!)and it turns out that aside from the driving, I was just along for the ride. GP is like a Bostonian, who knew? He told me where to park, at Alewife. Then he told me to buy a Charlie Card, hello? What the heck is a Charlie Card? It's a card that works like a highway Speedpass but for the Mass Buss and transit System! I actually stopped a MBTA person to ask where I could buy this "what is that thing I need?",(I asked Gene who looked mortified that his Mom didn't know what the heck she was doing!) and she pointed to some machines where I could buy them. Then she showed me how to use them (no, you don't swipe it, that would be too easy!)Anyway, once I had the card and we were in the train station GP took over.

This is GP after he had proven that yes, I almost got us on the wrong train. He said, "Now we take the green line to Park St" so I saw a green line train and I was going to board it and he says,"No, Mom. That's the wrong one. It's only the B, C or D train" which all sounded Greek to me. Green is green, am I right? LOL! Well, It turns out that there are FOUR green line trains and the only one that doesn't take you to where we needed to go was the one I was telling him to board; The H train. So where the heck was the H? I don't know! I didn't see any letters on the train! LOL! But I did ask the conductor who said what? That GP was right, "All green line trains will take you there except this one", duh!So after that I just asked GP, "now what?" and two train rides later and a brisk four block walk in blizzard like conditions we arrived at the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston!Sorry about the red eye, I couldn't figure out how to fix it; I'm still recovering from my trip, LOL! Since I had purchased our buttons through the mail we just walked right in and GP went straight to the service desk to ask "Where is the Anime exhibit?" To which the little old lady said, "ani-what?" and I felt my heart skip a beat.... OH, NOOOO! I said a little prayer that the exhibit would be there, somewhere. I had driven two hours at 40 miles per hour, swirved on the road, taken two trains and walked with snow blasting my face like a power washer and she doesn't know what he is talking about? Somebody shoot me! I am freezing and my back is drenched in sweat. Can you imagine that? I thought I would pass out! So anyway. GP looks at me and I told him we needed to check at another desk (she looked way too old to be a fan of Japanese Animation) and we asked, and asked and asked until we reached the third floor and there in a little room was the exhibit. AAAAAHHHHH!Turns out this "exhibit" was a conference room where the New England Anime Society was playing Japanese cartoons. That's it, really. My thoughts were,"I drove all this way to watch Japanese cartoons?" and it turns out I had, LOL! That's all he wanted to do there...Three floors chock full of activities for the whole family and we were watching cartoons. It was just too funny!Oh, but it gets better. Then GP says to me, "Now let's go to dinner, at the Prudential" and I think, " Oh, no. Here we go again!" But I agree and I tell him we have to put our jackets on and all our layers so can go outside. We bundle up like Eskimos, and put on our hats, scraves, gloves and I put on my backpack and we go down the escalators to the first floor and just as I start heading out the building GP says "It's this way" and I follow him.... Well, turns out that you can get to the Prudential Center from the Hynes without going outside! You just have to walk, and walk, and walk some more, LOL! I just followed him. I figured he knew where he was going and sure enough....we were there! Un-be-lie-vable!Well, he took me straight to the Food Court where he had sushi and soba noodles. His favorite food, these days anyway.

and look at this:Japanese people call this eating, I call this "fine motor skills"!OK, after we ate GP made me walk for miles in freezing temperatures, got me on the right train to the right parking garage, and then we drove home. I took a shower and died. I mean, fell asleep until this morning, LOL! What a day....So that was my First Night of 2009. Hope yours was just as exciting, B=)